Automatic gear-shifting mechanism.



.F. E,RE.N1CI

f AUToM/xlc GEAR SHIFTING MECH/mism.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24 `I 9 I 6.

Patented Feb. 12, ISHS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

lmfs@ F. E. HENICK. AUTOMATIC GEAR SHIFTING MECHNISNI. APPLICATION FILED IUIIE24. Isla.

1,255,933. Patent-ed Feb. i2, 191@ 424S'iEETS-SHEET 2. be

" l.UNITED sTATEsPATEnT' orsion.l A

FREDERICK E. RENICK, OF MAMMOTH SPRINGS., ARKANSAP AUTOMATIC GEAR-SHIF'IING MECHANISM.

application sied rune ai, 191s.

- easy control, wherein the shifting actions are subject to' a novel and convenient control und are positively actuated by the clutch pedal. The present improvements prevent shifting of the gears until the clutch is entirely released and eliminate any possibility' l or shifting `from loiv speed tov reverse While lchzinge is being made from low speed. ,to second speed.

The invention also contemplet the provisionl of improved ineens to prevent shifting the gears when the clutch is only partiully released and insuring` thnt no shifting occur until the clutch is 'fully released, this constituting the first action; the second nction oli the clutch pedal is to throw the parts to neutre] position, and only when 'the clutch pedal is it'ully shifted will there be effected the desired shitting of the gears.. Shift-ing of the clntch causes positive forcing or shift" ing'of the selected gears as the clutch goes in.

Another object of the invention isto provide improved means whereby should the controlling lever not he set to one of its properpositions, no dangerous or disadvan tageous'eii'ect would result, but When the clutch pedal is operated, the parts Will, all he thrown to neutral position.

further object is to insure against im proper or only partial meshing of the change speed gears if the clutch should he only partially operated. This is accomplished hy the provision of .an impro-ved safety stop means which will prevent the clutch ineinH hers from engaging until the gears ere fully meshed.

To carry out the foregoing oloiects,4 and others not specically mentioned hut which will appear from the following description,

1 provide an improved 'manually controlled or settable selective means of'vvhich one ern- Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 105,572.

hodilnent is hereinafter specifically described and is shown in the accompanying drawings,

hut. l ein aware that various modificationsA could be resorted to without departing from the essential principles of the invention, and l do not limit niyselif to the precise construe`- tions hereinafter specified, as they are to be considered as illustrative, rather than. restrictive, oi' the scope of the invent-ion.

ln the accompanying drawings:

Figure l n. plan view showing the invention applied to an antoniohi` e, oit which only ci p 'iin parte are shown;

. .l on 2, a detail nien, certain .arts hein cnnt ed .find others in dotted lines;

Fig. 3, a detail elevation, partly in section, showing the selective inechnnisnfi M'henthe parts are in neutral position;

Fig. Il, a similar vienT of the parte when in reverse position;

-Fig. 5, a similar view showing 'the parts arranged for low speed;

Patented Fel). 12, 191.8.

Fig. 6, a detail perspective of the selective mechanism; and

Fig. i', a detail perspective olf the gears and shifting shafts, forks, and operating parts.

ser led in connection. with en automobile, l n'isi it understood that its use is :not thus restricted, es it may he used with other niachiues. Furthermore, the invention .inay'he hilo the invention is illustrated end de applied either to n. unit construction in 'en nutoniobile, ainidship construction of the transmission, or Where the transmission is mounted on 'the rear axle, or it can he huilt as a part of the transmission.

The sidefranie pieces of the chassis ap' pear at l, the engine is shown convention-" ally at 2, steering?r vcolumn at 3, steering Wheel' at 4, gear casi-ng at 5, and drive shaft `at 6.

The invention is shown applied to a type of change speed gear contained withintheoit itself vin suitable hearings or guides110` and may lieoperated in .any preferred man# ner from means'carried bythe steering col'- .1

ninn, or, mounted on the dash or in any other suitable position. A convenient control for the shaft 9 consists of a controlling lever 1l Whose shaft lla is journaled in bearings 12 3:3 and 'whenever the controlling and adapted to sweep over a quadrant 13, shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and dotted lines in Fig. 2, there being provided notches 14 to hold the lever 11 in dill'erent positions rep resenting, for instance, vrorn leit to right in Fig. 1, reverse g first speedg neutral g second speed;77 third speed. The shaft 11a has an arm which is connected by a link 15 to a collar 16 on selective shaft SL cording to the position of the ley er 11 on the quadrant '13, the selective shaft i) will be positioned in relation to other devices now to be described so that means 'carried by said shaft Will determine which oi' the gears 'T n ill be shifted. The connection between the link 15 and the collar 16 is a rotary or loose one, adapting the shaft 9 to be locked when in any position to which it may be moved by lever 11.

The usual clutch controlling pedal 17 is adapted to Contact with a plat-e 18 carried by shaft 9 in whatever position said shalt may be when said pedal is suiiiciently moved. The pedal 17 is carried by a shaft 19 which has an arm 20 whose angular end 2-1 has a loose connection with a lever 22 piroted at 23 and carrying a trongh-like locking device 24 whose purpose will appear presently.

The gears T are shifted by for Yi carried by rock-shafts 26 which have cranks 27. Slidable in guides 28 at their forward ends and piroted at 29 at their rearward ends to the cranks 27, are gear shifters 30 which have iframesI 31 and 32 that are duplicates. Each trame has dogs which on the frame 31. appear at 33 and 3st, and on the i'rame at T he action of the frames 31 and 3&2 is independent., To determine which ot the frames '31, B2 is to be shifted, or, Whether said frames are to be moved at al', there is provided a selective member 37 which may assume the 'lorm of a baille plate ot sulicient size and rigidity, having notches 38, 39, which are out of transverse alinement, as is clear Jfrom Figs. 2 and o. The Width of the baille plate 37 is such that whenl the notches '38, '39, are out of register with the frames 31, 32, the actuationof the pedal 17 and its cooperation with the plate 18 will merely dispose the baffle horizontally and block any shifting ofV the frames 31, This occurs lover-11 is in the center notch 14 representing the neutral position, or, when said lever rests on the `quadrant 13 in any position intermediate any two of the notches 14C or between a notch la and the neutral notch 14.-, Consequently, it the control lever 11 is inadvertently moved to any position other than a proper one, the operation of the clutch pedal 17 will bring about no positiye shifting of the gears 7 and the effect will be the same if the lever were in the neutral position 1 4". This arrangement insures against improper oporation of the gears.

.dcvice also serves as a safety stop.

' It is the clutchplnlal, and not the lever which actually shifts the gears 7.

The selective baille plate 37 carries dogs Lit), 41, which are adapted to cooperate with either the upper or the lower dogs 33, 34', oi? frame Lil, or thc upper or lower dogs 35, 36, of the 'frame according to the position of the controlling lever 11, and the arrangement oi the dogs on the buffle and on said `frame is such that only one of the dogs 40,

111. can, at any given time, cooperate with a dog on either oi the frames 31 or 32. Consequently, it is impossible to mal-:e a wrong combination when shifting' the gears lWhen either one or the other of the dogs li0, Ll1, cooperates with a dog on one of the frames 31, 3Q, one oi the notches 38, 39, is in register with the frame, 31, or, 32, which is being shifted so that a suitable movement oit the shifted frame is permitted for otherwise the widthof the baille 37 would prerent shifting oi? either frame.

rl`he frames 3l, 32, carry forks il, 3, respectively, which either raddle or have one prong fit in, the loci g trough 24, according to circumstances. Means are thus provided for locking the gears T in air position to which they may be shifted. lhis For in stance, if the clutch should not be pushed out farenough, by operating the pedal 1i,1o throw the gears T into complete mosh in any one ol' the positions possible by the action oi the controlling lever 11, one oi the points or ends oi' the forks 42,143, instead of either straddliug tho locking trough i, or entering it. will iiiteriierc with one or the other ot thc upper edges ol said `trr'uugh and prevent completion of the operation ot gen-r shifting so that the rlulch will not engage.

ln my invention the routrollng lever 11, :ufcoraling to its position on the quadrant 13, shifts thc shaft 5) longitudinally to the position which will determine the cooperation o'l one or the other of ille dogs il), 111, with the dogs on the respective frames 31, 32, or, when said .lever 1.1 is in the neutral position 1.1i, there will be no such cooperation. 'Actual cooperation oi' the dogs is subscrpiently oli'ected, and the gears T are positively shiftcd, hy the opor-ation ot lhc clutch pedal 1'?. u,

A spring Lili. foperaliing with an arm 4:1, holds the shaft i) in a given normal position. '.l`hc arm il5 may rest on the rock-shaft 19. l'he settingr oi' the lever 11 is, therefore, for the plu-pose ol? selectively positioning the baille 257 and dogs `l0, 1l-1, and when the clutch pedal 1.7 is subsequently operated, the shifting ol' [he gears occurs unless the lever 1l is in the position lia.

Having thus describedy my invention, what Il claim as. new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an automatic gear shifting mechanism, the combination with selective gearsitions to determine different gear combina- .coperate when the tions, of gear shifting devices all lof which are coperatively related t'o said selector and are movable by the operation of said gear-shift-detemnining selector, a clutch operating device, and a member carried by the gear-shift determining selector with which said clutch operating device is adapted to gearshift-determining selector is in any one of the several positions in Which it may coperate with said gear shifting devices.

3,. In an automatic gear shifting mecha nism, the-combination with a longitudinally shiftable shaft, of a selective device carried thereby, means for moving the shaft to *different positions to determine different gear combinations, gear shifting' devices with which said selective device is adapted to co operate, or to lock, according to the position thereof, `roel/:able means carried by said shaft, and clutch pedal adapted to cooperate With said rockable means When the shaft is in any one of its different positions. 4. In an automatic gear shifting mecha nism, the combination With a longitudinally thereby,

shiftable shaft, of a selective plate carried thereby, means for moving the shaft to different positions to determine different gear combinations, movable `frames having operative connections for the purpose of shift ing the gears, and means carried by the selective plate and the respective frames adapted for cooperation, or for relative freedom, according to the selected position of said plate, whereby one or the other of said frames may be shifted, or both of them may be blocked, and clutch operating means adapted for turning said shaft and plate when in any of their positions.

5. In an automatic gear shifting mechanism, the combination With alongitudinally shiftable shaft, of a selective plate carried ferent positions to determine different gear gcombinationamovable frames having oper ative connections for the purposefof shifting the gears, and means carried by the selective 'plate and the respective frames adapted for coperation,` or for relative freedom, according to the selected position of said plate, whereby one or the other of said frames may be shifted, or both of them may be blocked, a movable combined locking device and safety stop adapted to coperate with the aforesaid frames to either lock them on proper shifting of the gears, or, to interfere with them on improper shifting, and a clutch operating" device controlling; the action of said combined locking device and safety stop, said clutch operating de vice being adapted to coperate with the longitudinally shiftable shaft to positively shift the gears;

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

FREDERICK FL RENICK.

means for moving the shaft to dif- 

